Tribune Editorial: Another argument for immigration reform

Saturday

Dec 29, 2012 at 6:06 AMDec 29, 2012 at 6:19 AM

The argument in favor of comprehensive immigration reform was strengthened again last week, this time by Iowa's joining several other states in denying driver's licenses and official ID cards to young immigrants who are in this country illegally through no fault of their own.

The argument in favor of comprehensive immigration reform was strengthened again last week, this time by Iowa’s joining several other states in denying driver’s licenses and official ID cards to young immigrants who are in this country illegally through no fault of their own.

These are the young people who were brought to the United States when they were children. They didn’t intentionally break our immigration laws, although their parents may have. These children have grown up as Americans, see themselves as Americans, and have every intention of living their lives as Americans.

They are also the would-be beneficiaries of the federal Dream Act, a form of which was first introduced in 2001 and has failed to pass in several tries over the past decade. Basically, the bill would grant a form of legal residency to immigrants brought in as minors as long as they were pursuing education or military service and had no criminal history. A new version is expected to be introduced in the U.S. House and Senate in January.

But meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, in a memorandum dated June 15, announced a program called Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, giving immigrants under 31 years old the opportunity to apply for a special status that would allow them to remain in the United States under certain conditions, with renewal every two years.

Homeland Security says clearly that its deferred action is an exercise of prosecutorial discretion and does not bestow legal status on the applicant. But it does remove the threat of deportation and allow the applicant to stay in school or the military, and to work legally.

It’s not a path to citizenship, and it also leaves it up to the states whether to grant driver’s licences and ID cards.

This is where the Iowa Department of Transportation comes in. After consulting with Gov. Terry Branstad’s office, the DOT decided that it will not issue driver’s licenses to individuals who qualify to stay here under the deferred action program.

The DOT says Iowa law won’t allow it, but that’s a question that could be resolved in the Legislature, or could be decided by the courts.

The issue, however, is that denying these young people a driver’s license is nonsensical.

Here we have people who were brought here before they were 16 years old, have lived here continuously for five years, are either in school, are high school graduates or in the military, and aren’t criminals — they have to prove all this to Homeland Security and pay a $465 fee to apply for the deferral — but Iowa doesn’t want to let them drive legally.

Now, of all the possible young people we might want to encourage to settle and work in Iowa, wouldn’t individuals in this group qualify? Except for their somewhat cloudy immigration status — they’re not officially legal, but they have been granted a deferral to live and work here — these young people sound like model residents. And in our car-dependent transportation system, chances are they need to drive a car to get to school or work.

It is estimated there are some 5,000 immigrants in this category in Iowa. Not too long ago, it was reported that more people are moving out of Iowa than are moving in, and a lot of those moving out are young, educated people who are much needed here to help the state’s economy thrive. Businesses in Iowa bemoan the shortage of educated and skilled workers.

But the Branstad administration has decided to ride the anti-Obama, anti-immigrant wave, to thumb its nose at the federal government and to slap these young immigrants in the face.

Iowa doesn’t have to do this. Seventeen states have decided the opposite way. Or, the Iowa Legislature could act. In the longer term, the checkerboard of rules across the states on just this one issue underscores the need for national, uniform, consistent and fair immigration laws, including a Dream Act or something similar that gives young immigrants a reasonable path to citizenship.

Meanwhile, unless it’s changed, Iowa’s message is that we don’t care that the federal government says you can live and work here, we’re going to make difficult, if not impossible, for you to succeed and contribute in Iowa.

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